By Stefan Coerts

The German champions recorded a comfortable win over Ajax on Wednesday, and the Germany international was very pleased with his side's progress since last year

Mario Gotze feels that Borussia Dortmund rose to the challenge in the Champions League this season after failing to make an impact last term.

The Bundesliga champions beat Ajax 4-1 at the Amsterdam ArenA on Wednesday to secure top spot in Group D, and Gotze has stressed that the difference from last season was that they performed at the big moments this time around.

"The Champions League is a very big challenge, and you need to rise to the occasion. We managed to do that, we stood up at the decisive moments and were efficient. That's the difference from last season," Gotze was quoted as saying on the official Uefa website.

"We were drawn in a very difficult group, but we simply looked forward to the opponents and the matches. And you could see that we wanted to make up for last year. I think that we did very well in that sense.

"Whether it was against Real Madrid or Manchester City or here against Ajax, we produced a very good team performance, and we are delighted to finish top of the group. We are also looking forward to the upcoming games."

Borussia Dortmund resume Bundesliga action on Saturday when they travel to Mainz.